Originally Published December 6, 2019 at Cinema76.com
Before going on just know that there will be some spoilers in this review. Nothing that I believe you would have trouble realizing or noticing early into the film, and nothing about the end of the film, but spoilers none the less. And mainly to illustrate why Little Joe is a worthwhile watch, and why it stands out from similar sci-fi films. Only a few months ago that I first saw both Invasion of the Body Snatchers films (1956 & 1978) for the Shame Files podcast. Having them fresh in my mind was very interesting for my viewing of this film.
Little Joe is directed by Jessica Hausner and stars Emily Beecham as Alice. Alice works in a lab where she and her colleagues genetically engineer different types of plants. Alice has been working on a special plant called “Little Joe” which is a plant that can supposedly “make you happy” by taking care of little Joe; talking to him, feeding him, keeping him from the cold, he will, in return, give off a pleasant dent that will make you happy.
Alice brings home a Little Joe to her son Joe (Kit Connor) but one of her colleagues tells Alice she believes Little Joe changes people. And these people, although they look, sound, and act the same are completely different. Suddenly Alice begins to notice changes in her son and the people around her and has to confront the fact that she may have created something sinister.
So yes this has many Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibes. And it’s story is not one that isn’t necessarily reinventing the wheel. In fact many scenes and some dialogue were very reminiscent of either of the Body Snatchers films. Now this does not necessarily mean that Little Joe is not worth your time, in fact it had the difference of being female directed and having the film focus very much on Alice as a single mother dealing with these evil happy plants.
Having this be more of a female focused plot and direction definitely brings something interesting to this tale. Most of the people who are “changed” by Little Joe, are men who then start to lie, manipulate, undermine, and gaslight Alice and her feelings. I think this is the essential piece that makes Little Joe an interesting watch. Alice is an independent woman who is raising a budding teenage boy and working hard at a job she loves to work on a project she is passionate about. Unfortunately for her, even without the Body Snatchers sci-fi plot, I wonder if Alice would be treated much differently.
Another stand out part about the film for me was more on the discussions around how different these people are. Is this really a bad thing? Or is it similar to someone taking antidepressants to improve their mental state? I think this is also something lacking in the Body Snatcher films from the past, of course it’s bad they are pod people! Here? I guess you have to make those decisions for yourself. Although I want to write more and analyze more pieces of this film I will avoid doing so for the purposes of this review.
Some other things to really enjoy about this film are the visuals. This film looks absolutely stunning. Little Joe has amazing colors, even the the house or Alice’s outfits are stunning.
There is also some amazing acting in this film from most of the cast but I would love to highlight Ben Whishaw, whom I adore, because I have never seen him play this sort of character before. Also the dog, there is a very good dog in this film.
It is fair to warn you however that there are a lot of sounds and music that are jarring and hard to listen to at times, we even checked to see if something was wrong with the screen when it started. Although it might be slightly annoying to sit through I really enjoyed it and it plays a crucial part and the anxiety inducing sounds add a nice element to the relaxing and beautiful visuals.
So if you want to check out an interesting sci-fi flick directed by a very talented lady I suggest getting a Twilight Zone fix and making time for Little Joe.
The Neon Banshee 